Kathy Wilhelm of The Ashton-Drake Galleries in Illinois sent me a Kayla Comfort Doll yesterday to give to a Mansion resident. She is a reader of the blog and has been following the Mansion stories.
This morning, I met with the Mansion staff to talk about who might benefit from this doll, which is almost shockingly realistic in look and feel and touch.
Kayla is an Ashton-Drake Alzheimer’s Dementia Comfort Doll, designed to help fill the achingly lonely holes in the emotional lives of people with memory loss. The doll sells for $119.99. Kathy donated this doll, no charge.
We all settled on Jean, a sweet, passionate animal lover and nurturer.
She used to vacuum the Mansion carpets every day because she loves caring for people. A stuffed dog sleeps every night in a dog bed alongside Jean’s bed.
They brought Jean the doll when she woke up, and when I got to the Mansion, I found her sitting with her Kayla doll in the hallway.
I have never seen Jean so happy. She was holding Kayla inside of her sweatshirt to keep her warm, and then she pulled her out to kiss her. She couldn’t stop smiling. She was so grateful to have this baby to hold and touch and love.
It was a stirring thing to see, and it erased any doubts that I might have had about the impact of these dolls on patients with memory loss. “Are you the one that did this?,” she asked. I said I brought the doll over but i told her where it came from. I don’t think that registered.
She took my hand and kissed it, “thank you for bringing her to me.” Memory is a complex thing, and I am not certain how it works int the case of a comfort doll. To me, it sees clearly to bring some people respite from loneliness, the satisfaction of having a task, something to focus on, and a way of recovering feelings, if not the memories themselves.
Red and I saw on a soft next to Jean for 20 minutes or so, and the smile never left her face. I asked if she wanted to keep Kayla’s name, and she said she would rather come up with a name herself.
I asked if she needed help, and she shrugged, and said she did. I suggested asking the readers of the blog, the Army Of Good, if they wanted to suggest names, and she nodded yes. We thought of two ways, one is to write Jean c/o The Mansion, 11 S. Union Avenue, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.
The other is to write me c/o my P.O. Box, Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816.
You can also e-mail me at [email protected].
We’ll collect all of the suggestions after a few days and sit down with Jean and come up with a name. I can tell you from the heart that this was a great gift for Jean, and thanks to Kathy Wilhelm.
She offered to send a diaper kit, and that seems like a great idea to me. I think Ruth might also benefit from a comfort doll, especially now.
I know she is alone without her “hubby” Ken, who died last week.
I had a meaningful day at the Mansion. First, Ken’s memorial service, then I brought a laptop from a reader named Kathy to Peggie, then I saw the CD Player we bought for Joan installed in her room, then I brought Matt his new sweatshirt so he can walk outside in the chilly weather, and I also looked down and saw the new sneakers we got for Jean, her old shoes were painfully tight.
And I saw Jerry wearing the new walking shoes we got her, the old ones were falling apart. I’ve got photos of some of these things, it was a special day for me there. Thanks so much for your support of this work.